Slide actuated closure



Jan. 13, 1959 S DB K 2,867,878

' SLIDE ACTUATED CLOSURE Filed April 30, 1953 INVENM 6/050 Ju/mBAa/r SLIDE Acruarnn CLOSURE Gideon Sundback, Meadville, Pa, assignor to Talon, 1116., a corporation of Pennsylvania This invention relates to improvements in slide actuated closures, of the type consisting of a pair of stringers, each provided with a series of interlocking elements, adapted to be engaged or disengaged for closing or opening of the closure by movement of a slider therealong. Such a closure is similar to, but not the same as, the well-known slide fastener or zipper, and differs therefrom in one important respect, among others, that the stringers are provided with a series of lace holes or eyes whereby the closure may be laced into an article, such as a shoe, tarpaulin, or the like, to which a closure is to be applied, thus eliminating the fabric of the conventional slide fastener, and the necessity of sewing such fabric to apply the closure.

It is one of the objects of my invention to provide a slide actuated. closure which may be laced into an application such as a shoe, tarpaulin or the like, so that the closure may be applied to an application in the field, since it does not require for its application a sewing machine or other specialized equipment or tools.

It is another object to provide a stringer for such a closure which is of simple geometry and can, therefore, be manufactured quickly and inexpensively.

It is a further object to provide a stringer for such a closure which may be made by injection moulding of a plastic material, such as a linear polyamide resin, in a single cavity die which does not require retractable cores or re-entrant configurations in the die cavities.

It is still another object of this invention to devise such a closure in which only one stringer casting is required, i. e., whereby any two stringer castings from a single die or mould may be mutually engaged to form a closure.

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent in the course of the following specification, and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown for the purpose of illustration, an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the slide actuated closure of my invention, shown laced to the lace flaps of a shoe, the shoe being shown in part only;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken on line 4--4 of Fig. -1; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4, taken along line 5--5 of Fig. 1.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in the different views.

Referring to the drawing, my closure consists, broadly, of a pair of stringers, 1 and 2, adapted to be engaged or disengaged for closing or opening by a slider 3. The closure is particularly adapted to be applied to an opening such as the access opening of a shoe which is normally laced and which has to be unlaced to be opened. To

this end the stringers 1 and 2 may be provided with lace eyes 4, 4, and I have illustrated by closure laced into a shoe, of which parts only are shown, such as lace flaps 5, 5 provided with the usual lace holes or eyelets 6, 6 and a tongue 7. 7 Each stringer 1 or 2 of the closure, which, it should be noted, are identical, is provided with a series of uniforinly spaced, thickened or interlocking portions, designated 8 in the drawing, connected together by relatively thin flexible portions 8a. On the inner edge of each of these interlocking portions 8, there is arranged a substantially hook-shaped interlocking projection 9, an interlocking projection receptacle or recess 10 which is open to the side of the interlocking portion in which it is arranged. As best illustrated in Fig. 2, each interlocking projection 9 is disposed on one side of the longitudinal centre or medial line of the stringer and thickened portion, and the adjacent interlocking projection receptacle 10 is located on the opposite side of the centre or medial line, and the order of the projections h and receptacles 10 on successive thickened portion 3 reverses fromonethickened portion to the next thickened portion, or, in other words, every other interlocking projection along a stringer is on one side of the longitudinal centre line of the stringer, and the others are on the other side of the centre line, for a purpose which will become apparent later herein.

The slider 3 of the closure may-consist of a pair of plate-like members 11 and 12, connected by a neck 13, which is preferably of wedge-shape section, as best shown inFig. 3. At least one of the members 11 and 12 is provided with a pair of bosses 14, 14, which are preferably of circular or oval section, and at least one of the members 11 and 12 may also be provided with a boss 15 of elongated V-shape. Each member 11 or 12 may also be provided with an additionalpair'of bosses 16, 16, preferably of circular section, which as best illustrated in Fig. 3, are spaced transversely of the closure a greater distance than are the bosses 14, 14. As illustrated, the slider 3 has been made by die-casting the unit in two halves consisting of a member 11 or 12, a pair of bosses 14, a boss 15, a pair of bosses 16, and part of the neck 13, and rigidly connecting the halves together by means such as rivets 17, 17 but such construction has been shown merely for purpose of illustration, and the slider may be constructed in a number of other ways. The slider may also be provided with a pull, or handle 18, which, as illustrated, may be in the form of a bail concentric with the plate-like element 11 of the slider, and may be provided with one or more closure locking projections 19.

On one end of each of the stringers 1 and 2, means for preventing removal or the slider from the stringers may be provided, and, as illustrated, such means may take the form of a projection 29 extending inwardly of the closure, and a second projection 21 extending out wardly of the closure.

In use, the closure may be laced into an opening to be I closed, such as the space between the lace flaps 5, 5 of the shoe illustrated, by means of a lace 22 having the usual lacing tips 23, 23. One of the many ways of doing this, as shown in Pig. 1, is by anchoring one end of the lace 22 on the inside of the top lacing eye 6 of one lace flap 5, by a knot, then threading the lace through the top lace eye 4 of the stringer'l, thence back through the lace flap and through another lace eye on the stringer, and so on down the lace flap until the stringer 1 has been fully laced to the one lace flap of the shoe. At the bottom of the stringer 1 the lace is threaded through the lowermost lace eye 4, from the outside, is passed around behind the two stringers 1 and 2, and up through the lowermost lace eye on the stringer 2, whereafter the lace 2,$7,7$ Patented Jan. 13, 1959 is passed back and forth between the other lace flap and stringer 2 until that stringer is fully laced to the flap, whereafter the free end of the lace 22 may be anchored in the uppermost lace hole 6 r the flap by a knot, as was the first end ofthe lace. v

With the closure'lace'd' in' the shoej'as'described, when the slider 3'is moved upwardlyalong the stringers 1 and 2, by grasping the pull 1%, the closure is closed by virtue of t'ne bosses 14 guiding the stringersil'a'ndi into cl'ose contact while the neck 13 of the slider keeps the stringers spread apart above the bosses 14, so'that, as the slider travels along the stringers, each interlocking projection 9 of stringer '1 enters an interlocking'projection receptacle it) of the stringer 2 immediatelyopposite'itfand at the same time'the adjacent rojection 9 of stringer 2 enters the receptacle 10 of stringer 1'. Simultaneously the V-shaped bosses of the slider guide the interlock ing projections 9,'-so that those of'one stringer pass over thoseof the other stringer. When the slider reaches the top of the closure it is prevented from coming oifthe stringers 1 and 2 by the projection's'Zll, 20, which abut the neck 13 of the slider, and the projections 21, 21

which engage the bosses 16, 16 of the slider. In this position of the slider 3 the pull 18 may be folded fiat against the closure, whereupon the locking projection or projections 19 protrude over the projections 20 on the ends of the stringers and engage such projections to prevent downward travel of the slider, i. e. to lock the slider on the closure.

On moving the slider 3 in the opposite direction along the stringers 1 and 2, the point of the wedge-shaped neck 13 enters successivelybetween each'pair of interlocking projections 9, 9, to spread the stringers land 2 apart, and to cause the projections 9 therebelow to disengage from the receptacles it into whichthey were hooked by the closing action of the slider. At the lower end of the closure, the portion of the lace 22 bridging the two stringers (see Fig. 5) acts'as a stop to engage the member 12 to keep the slider from coming ofi the closure.

It will be understood that this method of stopping 'the length of the stringer, and the corresponding interlocking element receptacles 10 also alternate across the centre line o-fthe' fastener, so that when two stringers are engaged to format closure each pair of interlocking projections 9 disposed opposite each'other transversely of, the closu'rekeeps the two stringers from being displaced, in

one sense, at'right angles to the plane of the stringers,

while the two adjacent pairs of interlocking projections prevent the'stringers from'being displaced," in the other sense, at right angles to the closure. "With this'alternating orientation'o-f the interlocking elements and receptacles, stringers for my closure can be cast, or mouldedQin a two-piece die which'does not requireretractable cores or re-entrant portions.

The closure stringers may be advantageously made of a linear polyamide resin, such as that commonly known as nylon, in which case the stringers'may be fabricated rapidly and economically by'injection moulding. The stringers may, .of course, be made 'of'other' materials, the only requirements being'that, as fabricated, the-material be reasonably flexible, and substantially non-elastic to en sure that the interlocking projections will register with the corresponding receptacles as the slider is'moved along" the stringers to engage and disengage them. It is quite possible to dispense with the bosses 16 of the slider, particularly if the closure is to be used in an 4 application where the opening stress on the closure is not high. The bosses 14 may be required on only one of the plate-like elements 11 or 12 of the slider 3, if such simplification of the slider is desirable.

An advantage of my closure is that it provides a light, smooth working, and relatively inexpensive substitute for permanent lacing, buttons, or the like, in a Wide variety of applications, and which may be applied to an application such as a shoe, tarpaulin, handbagfor the like, by lacing, whereby the closure can be added'to an article by a user after it has been purchased, since it does not require special machinery or equipment for installation. By the same token, if the closure should become inoperative, through excessive or careless use, it can be replaced by the user without special equipment.

Another advantage of the stringer construction I have disclosed, is that it can be fabricated by moulding in a two-part die, free from retractable cores *or' undercuts, the presence 'of'which would make a die for moulding such'a closure prohibitively expensive, both asto first cost and to operation. v

While I have shown and described an embodiment which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the pur pose of illustration and description, and that other forms may be devised Within the scope of my inventionas de fined in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is: 1. In a slide'fastener closure of theclass described,

a pair of stringers made of a plastic material, each stringer consisting of a longitudinally extending-continu ous length member having a series of opposed spacedapart interlocking portions arranged therealong-integrally connected together by relatively thin flexible portions, each of said interlocking portions having a substantially hook sh aped projection arranged on one side of the longitudinal medial plane thereof and extending outwardly from the inner edge thereof, a recess correspondingin shape to said projection arranged in each of said interlocking portions to one side of said projection and directly next thereto on the other side of the longitudinal medial plane of said interlocking portion, each of said recesses being open to that side of the interlocking portion'in which it is arranged.

2. in a slide fastener closure of the class described, as defined in claim '1, wherein the hook-shaped projection and recess 'of'one interlocking portion are arranged op+ posite to those of the next succeeding interlocking portion of the series.

3. In a slide fastener closure of the class described, as defined in claim 1, including means arranged on the outer edges of each of said stringers directly opposite each of. said interlocking portions for attaching the fastener stringers -to.the edges of an opening which the fastener is adapted to close.

4. In a slide fastener of the class described, a pair of stringers made of a plastic material, each of said stringers consisting 'of an elongated continuous length member having a series or, directly opposed spaced-apart,- relatively thick interlocking portions arranged therealong having relatively thin flexible portionsarranged therebetween so that the interlocking portions and thin flexible portions are integrally connected together, each of said interlocking portions having a substantially hook-shaped portion and a corresponding recess arranged therein adjacent'one another, said projections extending outwardly from the inner side of said interlocking portions and adapted tobe positioned in the recess of the opposed interlocking por-; tion when the fastener is closed, and an eyelet portion arranged on the outer side'of each of said interlocking portions for attaching the stringers to the article with which the fastener is to be used. 7

5. In a slide fastener of the class described, a pairof stringers made of a plastic material, each of said stringers consisting of an elongated continuous length member having a series of directly opposed spaced-apart relatively thick interlocking portions arranged therealong having relatively thin flexible portions arranged therebetween so that the interlocking portions and thin flexible portions are integrally connected together, each of said interlocking portions having a substantially hook-shaped projection arranged on one side of the longitudinal medial plane thereof and extending outwardly from the inner side thereof and a recess corresponding in shape to said projection arranged to one side of said projections and directly next thereto on the other side of the longitudinal medial plane of each of said interlocking portions, the hook-shaped projection and recess of one interlocking portion being arranged on the side opposite the longitudinal medial plane to that of the next succeeding interlocking portion of the series, and an eyelet portion arranged on the outer side of each of said interlocking portions for attaching the stringers to the article with which the fastener is to be used.

6. In a slide fastener of the class described, the combination as defined in claim 5, including an end stop portion arranged integral with the endmost interlocking portion of said series of each of said stringers.

7. In a slide fastener of the class described, a pair of stringers made of a plastic material, each of said stringers consisting of an elongated continuous length member having a series of directly opposed, spaced-apart, relatively thick, interlocking portions arranged therealong connected by relatively thin portions, each of said interlocking portions having a substantially hook-shaped projection arranged on the inner side thereof to one side of the longitudinal medial plane thereof and a recess corresponding in shape to said projection arranged therein directly next to said projection on the other side of the longitudinal medial plane of each of said interlocking portions, the projections and recesses being in staggered relation so that the projections and recesses of succeeding interlocking members are arranged on opposite sides of the longitudinal medial plane of the interlocking portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 557,207 Judson Mar. 31, 1896 557,208 Judson Mar. 31, 1896 1,813,385 Dalton July 7, 1931 1,817,838 Poux Aug. 4, 1931 1,836,958 Dalton Dec. 15, 1931 1,837,838 Whitney Aug. 4, 1931 1,850,160 Sundback Mar. 22, 1932. 2,066,060 Sipe Dec. 29, 1936 2,110,740 Seaver Mar. 8, 1938 2,252,305 Puschner Aug. 12, 1941 2,496,925 Winterhalter Feb. 7, 1950 2,736,940 Morin Mar. 6, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 120,653 Sweden Feb. 7, 1950 618,340 France Mar. 7, 1927 956,320 France Jan. 30, 1950 

